1. Field of the Invention
This application claims the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. §365 of International Application PCT/US2005/003470, filed Feb. 7, 2005, which was published in accordance with PCT Article 21(2) on WO2006/085850 A1 in English.
The present invention generally relates to user control techniques for an apparatus, and more particularly, to a method for enabling users to control various functions of an apparatus such as a television signal receiver in an easy and convenient manner.
2. Background Information
Apparatuses such as television signal receivers are often controllable by user input devices such as hand-held, wireless remote control devices and/or other user input devices. Current designs for such user input devices often include a relatively large number of keys/buttons to accommodate the many functions capable of being is provided by the apparatus. Such designs may, for example, include specific keys/buttons that are dedicated to controlling certain apparatus functions.
With the aforementioned type of user input device designs, it may be unduly complicated for users to control an apparatus. For example, users may become overwhelmed by the relatively large number of keys/buttons available for selection and/or may not understand the function provided by certain keys/buttons. Accordingly, users may avoid using many of the available keys/buttons of the user input device, other than those keys/buttons that they understand and are comfortable using and/or those keys/buttons that are necessary for the basic operation and control of an apparatus (e.g., on/off, etc.). As a result, users may be disadvantaged in that they fail to utilize the many available functions capable of being provided by an apparatus.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method for enabling users to control an apparatus such as a television signal receiver that avoids the foregoing problems, and thereby enables users to control a relatively large number of apparatus functions in an easy and convenient manner. The present invention addresses these and/or other issues.